Roommate Romance

Chapter 30

"Oh, good. We'll have something to discuss with you," sagot niya. "And it's kinda a good news by the way."

"Kaya bilisan mo na, Mr. Barista guy, at excited na kaming sabihin sayo kung ano 'yon," pagsingit pa ni Maris.

Muli na naman akong napailing. Itong mga 'to talaga . . .

***

Dahil hindi agad dumating 'yong kapalitan ko, na-extend pa ng another fifteen minutes bago ako makapag-out. Pagpunta ko sa kanilang table, taka ko silang tiningnan dahil tatatlo na lang silang natira.

"Where's Julius?" I asked, creasing my forehead.

"Coreen texted him," Maris replied and I could sense the bitterness in her voice. "At dahil dakilang martyr ang kaibigan nating 'yon, muli na naman tayong pinagpalit sa babaeng linta."

"Grabe ka naman kay Julius, boss," suway naman ni Paolo. "Suportahan na lang natin kung saan siya masaya."

"Buti ba kung sasaya talaga siya sa babaeng 'yon. E, hindi naman, 'di ba? She hurt him before and it's not impossible that she do it again."

"Enough with Julius-Coreen topic, pwede ba?" pagsingit ko bago pa makapagsalita si Paolo. Naramdaman ko na rin kasi ang pagiging hindi kumportable ni Karen.  "Saka may sasabihin kayong good news, 'di ba?" pag-iiba ko ng usapan. "Ano ba 'yon?"

Nagbuntonghininga muna si Maris bago bumaling sa gawi ko. "We already talked to Ma'am Paloma about your case."

My eyes widened. "Ma'am Paloma? 'Yong dean ng department natin?"

Mabilis namang napatango si Paolo. "Yep," he replied. "Kinausap na namin siya tungkol sa pagbabalik-aral mo. And guess what? She told us that you can still graduate on time. Kasabay namin."

Mas lalong hindi ako makapaniwala sa huli niyang sinabi. "W-What?"

"You heard it right, Chie," Karen uttered. "Kailangan mo lang daw mag-take ng summer class starting next month for your second semester until last week of July before the opening of the next academic year," she explained.

Hindi agad nagproseso sa utak ko ang mga sinabi nila. Hindi rin ako agad nakapagsalita. I'm speechless for pete's sake!

"And worry no more, Chie, because we'll help you in everything," Maris added. "Kapag wala kaming ginagawa or after the major examinations, tutulungan ka namin. You can also have our notes for your advance reading."

"Tapos pwede ko ring ipasa sayo 'yong mga PDF files ko for reviewing," nakangiting sambit naman ni Karen.

"Saka kung inaalala mo pala 'yong tungkol sa thesis, naurong na 'yon at during our fourth year na gagawin," ani Paolo. "Siguro mga bandang first sem."

"Guys . . ." nahihirapan kong sabi. "I don't know what to say."

"Sabi naman namin sayo, Chie, na we got your back, 'di ba?" Maris said, smiling. She also softly tapped my shoulder.

"At hindi rin kasi kami makapapayag na hindi tayong lima sabay-sabay na ga-graduate," dugtong pa ni Paolo. "It's our pact after surviving the crucial stage of our first year in college, remember? Wala dapat maiiwan sa ere."

"Thank you, guys. Thank you."

Dahil hindi ko talaga alam ang sasabihin ko, paulit-ulit na lang akong nagpasalamat sa kanila. Masyado kasi akong na-overwhelm sa mga sinabi nila.

To be honest, I don't know what will happen to me if they're not become my friends.

I'm really thankful that they became part of my life; and I also became part of their lives.